Quote:
Originally Posted by slakjaw
I have been looking at getting an old rangefinder. Thought I would ask the OT’ers here about them. There is a Leica M3 and a IIIC local to me on craigslist. What is it like shooting these old rangefinders? What should I look out for if I go check them out?
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The IIIC is a screw mount camera that you will have to screw the lenses onto, the M3 is a bayonet mount that is much faster and easier to deal with. Lenses for the IIIC will be less expensive to purchase but will lack the modern optical coatings and be prone to fogging and fungus. The screw mount lenses can be mounted on the M3 using an adapter SM-M. The IIIC is difficult to load film in as the leader needs to be cut to fit it into the take up spool correctly and Leica made a template for that. If you buy a IIIC check the shutter curtain by cocking the shutter and firing the camera with the lens off. Check to see if the shutter is cracked or torn. By cocking the shutter you will also see how slow it is to advance film compared to the M3 which uses a lever cocking mechanism. The IIIC's slow shutter speeds will probably be off and need to be adjusted. The M3 came in several versions a double throw cocking mechanism where you will need to cock the shutter lever twice to advance the film and a single throw version. Preview levers were added to show you what the image will look like with different focal lengths (50-90-135) before you decide on which lens to use. Some had self timers others didn't and some have been upgraded to single throw, preview and self timer by the owners. The M3 is arguably one of the best Leicas made if you like rangefinder photography, they are solid but you will also need to check the shutter curtain and the rangefinder window for accuracy. If you remove the lens and look at the top screw on the camera body lens mount the camera will not have been serviced if there is a wax plug covering the screw. If you see a screw head then the camera has been opened up and you should question what has been done to it. If you open the back, cock the shutter and fire it you should not be seeing the seam where the front and rear curtains are sewn together if you do the camera will need to be serviced. Remember too that, unless you buy a light meter, you will be determining exposure as neither camera has a built in meter. I've used both the M3 and M2 cameras and really loved them as photographic tools but my fav film M is the M6 as it is a beautifully refined M with a dead on meter built in and more frame windows in the rangefinder. Get ready to spend big bucks for the M lenses especially the wide angles and "fast" apertures.